Bottle carrier



June 13, 1944. E. H. LUPTON BOTTLE CARRIER Filed Aug. 29, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 13, 1944. E. H. LUPTON BOTTLE CARRIER Filed Aug. 29, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Elmer H Lu :|tun

June 13, 1944. E, H. LUPTON BOTTLE CARRIER 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 29, 1940 ififi 6 Elmer H.Lu tcfn June 13, 1944. E, H. LUPTON BOTTLE CARRIER Filed Aug. 29, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ti- /6 a Patented June 13, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOTTLE CARRIER Elmer H. Lupton, llchester, Md.

Application August 29, 1940, Serial No. 354,750

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a bottle carrier made from a single blank of paper board or analogous material, adapted to contain either one or two rows of bottles, the carrier having means for separating the bottles in each row from contact with one another and also having means for separating the bottles in adjacent rows from contact with one another. The carrier is so designed that its sides and handle portions are composed of a double thickness 01 the paper board throughout, making it strong and durable.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of a carrier adapted to contain two rows of bottles;

Figure 2 is a horizontal section through the carrier about on the line 2-2 of Figure 3;

Figure 3 is a side view of the carrier with one I side panel broken away and the bottom panel shown in central longitudinal section, bottles being indicated in dotted lines;

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a plan view of the blank from which the carrier shown in the preceding figures is made;

Figure 7 is an inner face view of the complete carrier;

Figure 8 is a longitudinal section on the line 8-8 of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a. section on the line 9-9 of Figure 7, showing a portion or one 01' the sides of the carrier and also parts associated with the bottom panel, partly raised;

Figure 10 is a plan view of a blank for forming a carrier suitable for containing only a single row of bottles;

Figure 11 is an inner face view of the complete carrier made from the blank shown in Figure 10;

Figure 12 is a section on the line I2-I 2 of Figure 13, bottles being indicated in dotted lines, and

Figure 13 is a side elevation, on a small scale, of the carrier shown in Figure 11, set up and containing bottles.

Referring to the carrier shown in Figures 1 to 9 of the drawings, and first to Figures 6 and 7. In Figure 6, A represents the blank from which the complete carrier is made. The blank is scored longitudinally along two parallel lines I, dividing it into a main or body portion a and two side flaps a, the latter being identical in form and each approximately one-half the width of the body portion. The blank A is also scored transversely along parallel lines 2, and these lines divide the body portion into a bottom panel 3 and side panels 4 and 5. Each side flap has a slit 6 parallel with the adjacent crease line and these slits and the crease lines 2 define end pieces b at the ends of the bottom panel 3. Diagonal crease lines I extending from the intersections of the crease lines I and 2 to the ends of the slits 6 define hinge pieces 0 which hingedly connect the ends of the end pieces b to the side flaps a. Each side flap has a part d formed by a crease line 8, parallel with the slit 5, and slits 9 extending from the crease 8 to the slit 6 in line with the crease lines 2. These parts 01 form separating partitions on the bottom panel between the bottles, as hereinafter explained. They are joined along the hinge lines 8 to rectangular parts i which extend to the side edges of the flaps.

The handle portion of the side panel 4 of the blank A comprises a part 4 having a transversely extending hand hole I0 near its end and the handle portion 5 of the side panel 5 has a corresponding hand hole I adapted to register with the hand hole in the part 4 when the side panels are in upright position as shown in Figures 1 to 4. A locking flap 5 at the end of the panel 5 is adapted to be bent over the end of the panel 4 and to extend through the hand holes HI in both panels, as shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4. A large opening II is cut in the part 4 of the body portion, forming a fan-shaped tongue e which is connected to the handle portion 4 and extends toward the bottom panel and this tongue has longitudinally extending crease lines I2 which permit the side portions e of the tongue to be bent at a right angle to the central portion. A similar cut is made in the part 5 of the body portion, forming a, large opening l3 and a tongue f or the same form and dimensions as the tongue e, and the tongue I is creased to provide flaps f which may be bent at a right angle to the central portion of the tongue. The tongue I has a transverse slot I5 near where it joins the handle portion and the tongue e has a hinged locking tongue l6 adapted to engage the slot 15 to lock the tongues e and I together when the carrier is set up.

The side flaps a are alike in all respects. They have complementary slots l0 adapted to register with the slot III in the part 4 and complementary slots Ill adapted to register with the slot ID in the part 5 of the body portion when the flaps are folded as in Figure 7. They have also cuts I I which form complementary tonguepieces g which overlie the tongue e when the flaps are folded, and cuts H which form complementary tongue pieces h which overlie the tongue I.

In making the complete holders, each blank,

formed as in Figure 6, is passed endwise under gluing rollers and glue is applied to the flaps a adjacent their edges, as indicated by the shaded lines ii. The flaps are then folded over the body portion and the flaps are thus glued to the body portion along the longitudinal central part of the latter. The tongue parts a are thus glued onl to the body of the tongue e between the crease lines l2, and the tongue parts h are similarly glued to the tongue I. The parts i are glued to the central panel 3.

To set up the carrier shown in Figure 'l, the sides of the carrier are swung upwardly about the crease lines 2 into the positions shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4 and the locking flap 6 on the one side is passed over the top of the other side and through the hand holes ID, as shown in the last mentioned figures. As the sides swing upwardly the hinge pieces 0, which are hinged to the flaps a. and to the ends of the end pieces 22, force the end pieces to the upright positions shown in Figures 1 to 4. The separating partitions d are then raised by hand to their vertical positions, as shown in these figures. In Figure 9 the end pieces and separating partitions are shown partly raised for the purpose of illustration. The end pieces are hinged directly to the ends of the bottom panel 3, while the partitions d are hinged to the parts i which are glued to the bottom panel. As shown in Figure 5, these partitions extend entirely across the bottom panel and separate the lower parts of the bottles in each row rrr and 33's from one another, the bottles being. indicated by dotted circles.

To complete the set up of the carrier for the reception of the bottles, the two side portions e' of the tongue e are bent outwardly at substantially a right angle to the central part of the tongue (along the crease lines l2). and the side portions 1 of the tongue j-are similarly bent outwardly from the central portion of the tongue, in the opposite direction from the parts 6'. Thus the parts e project toward the side opening ii and the parts I project toward the side opening l3. As heretofore explained, in forming the carrier the tongue pieces g are glued to the central part of the tongue e and the tongue pieces h are glued to the central part of the tongue I. These tongue pieces therefore lie between and parallel with the central parts of tongues e and I and project laterally beyond them.

In filling the carrier a row of three bottles 88' and s will be inserted through the large opening I: in the side 4, and these, it will be noted, from Figures 2 to 5, will be separated from one another at their upper portions by the parts e of the tongue e, and at their lower ends by the partitions d. The bottles rrr' of another row, inserted through the side opening II, will be separated from one another at their upper portions by the parts I of the tongue I and at their lower ends by the partitions d. The two rows of bottles will be separated from one another by the central parts of the tongues e and f and by the tongue parts a and h which lie between them and project laterally beyond them.

In Figures 10 to 13 inclusive I have shown a one-piece carrier for carrying only a single row of bottles. The blank A from which this single row carrier is formed, shown in Figure 10, is the same as that shown in Figure 6, except for the omission of the opening it, tongue I, tongue parts h and the cuts I! of Figure 6, and the bottom panel 3' is narrower than the bottom panel 3 in Figure 6. The remaining parts have similar reference characters in the two blanks and serve the same purposes, so that it is unnecessary to describe these in detail in Figures 10 and 11.

When the carrier is set up as shown in Figure 13, the end pieces b on the bottom panel are automatically raised and the partitions d are raised by hand and the parts e of the tongue e areturned outwardly, and the bottles, indicated in dotted lines, are inserted through the opening II in the panel 4', and these will be separated from one another by the partitions d on the bottom panel and the parts e on the tongue 0.

What I claim is:

1. A bottle carrier for double rows of bottles to be carried therein, formed from a single blank of material, comprising a quasi-triangular enclosure or the like with the base portion horizontally arranged for the support of a plurality of bottles disposed vertically therein, said base having relatively short extending upright end pieces for retaining the lower portions of the bottles thereon, the sides forming walls of the enclosure being extended from the base and brought to substantially an apexed edge and secured together near the said edge into a relatively short flat panel, with a portion of each wall cut out leaving pending partitions extending downwardly from said panel to form a cushioning element between the longitudinal rows of the bottles, end portions of said pending partitions being bent outwardly at right angles thereto to form additional cushioning elements between the bottles of each of the rows, said panel also having portions removed therefrom to leave aligned holes therethrough adjacent the apexed edge to form a handle opening therefor above the tops of the bottles, the contour of said pending partition being formed on return curves restricting the size of the partition at its juncture with the side walls aforesaid and enabling the remaining inner edge of the cut out portions of the walls to triangularly contact the bottles to suit their external surfaces transversely and vertically and allow the same to be heldinteriorly at their bottoms and project exterioriy from the carrier at their upper portions.

2. A bottle carrier of the class described for double rows of bottles to be carried therein, formed from a single blank of material doubled upon itself to form a two-ply container blank, comprising a quasi-triangular enclosure or the like with the base portion horizontally arranged for the support of a plurality of bottles disposed vertically therein, said base having relatively short extending upright end pieces for retaining the lower portions of the bottles thereon and additional portions forming bottle dividers, the sides forming walls of the enclosure being extended from the base and brought to substantially an apexed edge and secured together in a relatively short fiat panel, with a portion cut through to allow a pending partition to extend downwardly from said panel to form a cushioning element between the rows of bottles, portions of said pending partition being bent at right angles thereto to form additional cushioning elements between the bottles of each of the rows, said portions on the base of the blank being bent upwardly to extend transversely of said base and contoured on return curves restricting the size of the partition at its juncture with the side walls aforesaid and enabling the remaining portions of the sides triangularly to contact the bottles to suit their external surfaces transversely and vertically and allow the same to be held interiorly at their bottoms and project exteriorly from the carrier at their upper portions.

ELMER H. LU'PTON. 

